Big 12 Tourney (03/07/16)

Kansas is the favorite but the Jayhawks aren't locks to win the Big 12 tourney.

Conference tournaments are the unofficial start of March Madness. The NCAA awards 32 automatic bids to the Big Dance and 31 of those (the Ivy League does not hold a tournament) will be determined through each conference's tournament.

With automatic bids at stake, we have simulated each conference tournament using our Bracket Simulator to predict which teams will punch their ticket to March Madness. The Bracket Simulator is a free tool that gives you the power to simulate the postseason for any sport. Create your own bracket now!

PredictionMachine.com has been very profitable in conference tournaments. All-time on the site, "normal" or better conference tournament picks are 113-84-1 (57% ATS and O/U), through 2015. For access to conference tournament picks, click here.

When: March 9-12

Where: Kansas City, MO

The automatic bid goes to: Kansas (46.4%)

The Jayhawks have won 12 consecutive regular season conference titles. KU is on an 11 game winning streak and is the No. 1 team in our Power Rankings. Kansas will likely win the conference tournament (its first since 2013), which could lock up the top overall seed in the Big Dance.

And if they lose: West Virginia (28.3%)

West Virginia can bring it on both ends of the floor. The Mountaineers are top 15 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. WVU's aggressive defense is second in the country in steals and second in forced turnovers.

Bid Thief

Oklahoma: it wasn't that long ago that the Sooners were the top team in the country. Buddy Hield is the best player in America's best conference and is a front-runner for National Player of the Year honors.

Odds to win the Big 12 Tournament (based on 50,000 simulations of the conference tournament)